14 May 2008

Shauna's well known in the gluten free community for her stunning food photos and scintillating blog-skills. She's even gotten media coverage on the food network.

*This is me being jealous*

Anywhoodles, she's a really really good cook, and that's all you really need to know...

I was looking for a really great gf recipe from her wide, wide selection of gf offerings. The flourless chocolate torte tempted me....until we (the Carnivore and I) made a pact to go without refined sugar for a month. Drat. I decided, in light of my overwhelming sugar-temptation, to steer clear of anything remotely sweet and go for an entree instead.

There were so many choices that it was hard to narrow it down. Not entirely hard - Shauna's got a lot of meat/fish entrees, and while we spend the vast majority of the fall and winter meatifying ourselves, spring and summer are essentially vegetarian if not vegan affairs. I decided to go with her fantastic cajun red beans and rice recipe.

Now her recipe calls for sausage, and maybe ham, and... we're not eating meat, so I did have to do a bit of tweaking.

I calculated how much seasoning goes into 2 lbs of andouille sausage and added it to the recipe. This helps the general flavour of the meal to remain consistent to her recipe without sacrificing philosophy/budget.

Soak the beans overnight, if possible. The next day, drain and put fresh water in the pot. (This helps reduce the, um, flatulence factor.) Bring the beans to a rolling boil. Make sure the beans are always covered by water, or they will discolor and get hard. Boil the beans for about 45 - 60 minutes, until the beans are tender but not falling apart. Drain.

[Not having planned ahead, I only had canned beans. I used three cans of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed them, then threw them in a big stockpot with some water, sherry, creole seasoning, bay leaves, and garlic cloves. I let them boil away for about half an hour.] I just used the rinsed cans of beans, and added the bay leaves, sherry, and garlic cloves, without boiling again.

While the beans are boiling, sauté the Trinity (onions, celery, bell pepper) until the onions turn translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

[I'm pretty much thinking that the more garlic, the better.]

After the beans are boiled and drained, add the sautéed vegetables to the beans, then add the ham hock (or ham or pickle meat), smoked sausage, seasonings, and just enough water to cover. Here I jsut used the extra seasonings and omitted the meat.

[I skipped the ham hock, which I'm sure was a travesty. Intead, I just threw in the sausages, seasonings, a little water, more sherry, and the shrimp.]

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cook for 2 hours at least, preferably 3, until the whole thing gets nice and creamy. Adjust seasonings as you go along. Stir occasionally, making sure that it doesn't burn and/or stick to the bottom of the pot. (If the beans are old -- say, older than six months to a year -- they won't get creamy. Make sure the beans are reasonably fresh. If it's still not getting creamy, take 1 or 2 cups of beans out and mash them, then return them to the pot and stir.)

[As I wrote, when the concoction had boiled down to as much liquid as I wanted, I threw it into the crockpot and let it bubble on high for nearly three hours.]

If you can ... let the beans cool, stick them in the fridge, and reheat and serve for dinner the next day. They'll taste a LOT better. When you do this, you'll need to add a little water to get them to the right consistency.

04 May 2008

Girl-Scout Style Samoas

(click on image to enlarge)

Makes A LOT

These were my favourite cookie growing up – I always took off with the box as soon as my mom brought them into the house. Eventually she gave up and let me have my own box. Then she got smart and made me buy them…

Now, I make my own. This recipe passed with a good girlfriend of mine, who said they tasted like the real deal.

Ingredients

2 cups almond flour from making almond milk, dehydrated and ground

1 cup coconut, ground into powder, (I use my coffee grinder)

4 medjool dates, pitted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or use vanilla seeds)

⅛ teaspoon sea salt

*COCONUT FILLING*

1 RECIPE Condensed Milk, from my profile page

1 or 2 c dehydrated coconut

*CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE*

1 RECIPE Chocolate Ganache, from my profile page

Preparation

In the bowl of your food processor, grind the almond flour and coconut until very fine and homogeneous, Add the dates, vanilla, and salt and blend until mixture comes together in a smooth mass – you may want to add the smallest amount of water to achieve this- no more than 2 tbsp!

Roll out to 1/8 inch thickness on a silicone liner or parchment paper and cut into small circles – I use a small 2 inch cookie cutter (an ‘o’ shaped one from my alphabet collection).

Place in the dehydrator and dehydrate at 110 degrees for at least 4 hours or until crisp (I usually dehydrate about 6 hours).

Mix the condensed milk and enough coconut to make a thick filling – it should be like really sticky macaroon batter. Place a small amount of this on top of the cookie, pressing lightly to stick the filling to the cookie. Place back into the dehydrator and dehydrate for about another 2-3 hours, or until the topping is set and thickened.

Make the Ganache, following the instructions on that recipe, cooling until the mixture is thick but still flowing. Dip the bottom of the cookies in the ganache and place on a parchment paper. Drizzle with ganache and place in the fridge to set. Store in a container in the fridge.

You'll need this recipe to make my famous girl-scout style Raw Samoas, but it's also a great alternative for condensed milk for those of us who can't or don't do dairy.

This is a fantastic replacement for condensed milk for recipes like Girl-Scout Style Samoa Cookies and Magical Seven Layer Bars (recipes coming soon). It will thicken and ‘caramelize’ in the dehydrator, and is surprisingly authentic in flavour. Don’t let the coconut scare you – this isn’t a ‘coconut’ flavoured condensed milk sub.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons golden flaxseed

6 tablespoons water

1 cup agave nectar

¼ teaspoon sea salt

1 cup coconut, ground into powder, (I use my coffee grinder)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract (or use vanilla seeds)

Preparation

Soak the flaxseed in the water overnight.

Blend at high speed in the blender until the mixture is ‘fluffy’ and frothy. Very, very slowly add the agave nectar. Add the sea salt, coconut, and vanilla and continue to blend until mixture is very smooth and creamy looking.

Pour mixture into a shallow dish and place in the dehydrator.

Dehydrate at 115 degrees for at least three hours, or until desired consistency is reached.

There is nothing better than a girl scout cookie fresh out of the freezer. Of course, they're terrible for you. But they're so darn good.

I've had cravings for them for as long as I can remember. Naturally, when we went gluten free about 4 years ago the cravings increased. Of course they would. There's a principle called 'forbidden fruit..."

Anywhoodles, I finally decided to do something about it. Here are two variations of girl scout cookies. They both taste pretty darn real, and they're both easy. If you don't mind a non-vegan version of the baked ones, feel free to save yourself some time and use Hershey's Mint Chocolate Chips for the dipping chocolate.

Vegan Girl-Scout Style Thin Mints

Makes A LOT

The chocolate wafers that make up the base of these cookies go incredibly well for other applications (fake oreos or ice cream sandwiches, for two), but I think they're best here - robed in luscious mint-chocolate and begging to be scarfed. I made several tins of these for my family, and true to tradition, hid a few tins in the far reaches of the freezer, for myself.

Ingredients

8 ounces organic palm shortening (you can use crisco if you prefer)

4 drops peppermint oil

1 c powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 c cocoa powder

3/4 tsp sea salt (or 1 tsp salt)

1 1/2 c Better Batter Gluten Free Flour

12 ounces milk-free chocolate (we like a good dark chocolate chip)

1/4 c organic palm shortening

4 or more drops peppermint oil to add to the chocolate

Preparation

In the bowl of your Mixer, combine the shortening, sugar, peppermint oil, cocoa, sea salt, and flour. Beat until smooth. Place in the freezer to chill for about twenty minutes.

Lightly flour a silpat or parchment paper and place the dough on the surface. Flour the dough and roll out to 1/8 inch thickness.

Cut into 1 1/2 inch circles with a small cutter. Place on parchment or silpat lined cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Slip the liners onto cookie racks or cake racks and allow to cool completely. Peel from the sheet.

In a double boiler or bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and palm shortening, stirring in enough peppermint essential oil to make the chocolate mint-chocolatey—be VERY careful! Too much peppermint will give you a ‘toothpaste’ taste. I like about 4 drops. Let the ganache chill until thickening, but still flowing (about 10 minutes in the fridge, stirring every so often)

Using a Fork, Dip each chocolate wafer into the peppermint ganache, hitting the fork gently against the side of the bowl to shake excess off. Place on a clean parchment paper and transfer to the fridge or freezer to set. Place in a container and keep in the fridge or freezer.

RAW (vegan) Girl-Scout Style Thin Mints

Makes A LOT

I fed these to a SADdie, without comment, and she said – ‘What did you make…gluten free girl scout cookies?”

Jst saying… these are as close to the real deal as you’re going to get in this life (without selling out). Thin wafers of mint-chocolate cookie are encased in a chocolate ganache.

These are best out of the freezer – of course that could be years of training speaking.

Ingredients

2 cups almonds flour from making almond milk, dehydrated and ground

3 drops peppermint oil

½ cup coconut, ground into powder, (I use my coffee grinder)

½ cup cacao powder, (use a really high quality)

8 medjool dates, pitted

¼ cup water

¼ teaspoon sea salt

1 RECIPE Chocolate Ganache

4 drops or more peppermint oil, to add to the ganache

Preparation

In the bowl of your Food Processor, combine the almond flour, peppermint oil, coconut, and cacao powder. Grind till fine and homogeneous. Add the dates, water, and salt and process until the mixture comes together in a smooth ball, like cookie dough.

Heavily ‘flour’ a silpat or parchment paper with cacao powder and place the dough on the surface. ‘Flour’ the dough with cacao powder and roll out to 1/8 inch thickness.

Cut into 1 1/2 inch circles with a small cutter. Place on dehydrator sheets and dehydrate at 110 degrees for at least 10 hours, or until very crisp.

Follow directions for making Ganache, stirring in enough peppermint essential oil to make the ganache mint-chocolatey—be VERY careful! Too much peppermint will give you a ‘toothpaste’ taste. I like about 4 drops. Let the ganache chill until thickening, but still flowing (about 10 minutes in the fridge, stirring every so often)

Using a Fork, Dip each chocolate wafer into the peppermint ganache, hitting the fork gently against the side of the bowl to shake excess off. Place on a clean parchment paper and transfer to the fridge or freezer to set. Place in a container and keep in the fridge or freezer.